Puzzle



July" 5, 1927. 1,635,022

r J. 5. ALLEN PUZZLE Filed Jan. 25, 1927 ENTOR M Affoamzv 3 JOHN S ALLEN Patented July 5, 1927.

, 1,635,022 PATENT OFFICE. 1

JOHN S. ALLEN, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

PUZZLE.

' Application filed January 25, 1927. Serial No. 163,532.

- This invention relates'to puzzles and more particularly to one of that type which comprises two parts required to be separated from each other.

It is the primary object of this invention to provide a puzzle device which may be easily and economically manufactured and which involves such ingenuity in its arrangement of parts and construction that any one attempting to solve the puzzle will be entertained andinterested for a considerable length of time. I

WVith this and other objects'in view as will be apparent to one skilled in the art, my invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in the specification and covered by the claims appended thereto.

Inaccordahce with my'invention, one form of the puzzle comprisesa plate having a grooved or perforated track arranged to form tortuous passages within which are located two pins of the rider to be removed from the plate. It is preferred that these pins be made of different sizes and that certain portions of the tortuous passage be .so

constricted that only the narrower pin may.

pass therethrough. In order to render the puzzle more diflicult, the body of the rider is made of suflicient size so that the worker of the puzzle cannot readily see the pins. The tortuous passage opens at one end of the plate, but this exit is closed by a swinging gate provided with grooves arranged to cooperate with port-ions of the passagewhen in certain positions and thus niakeit possible for one to remove the pins successively from the channel passage to the outside of the plate, provided the rider is moved in a certain manner for this purpose.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, I have there shownthe puzzle in'the form of a boot in which the gate is positioned to suggest the boot strap and the rider which is to be removed from the boot is in the form of a bottle.

In these drawings, in which like numerals indicate like parts;

Fig. 1 is a vertical elevation of the puzzle plate, with the pins of the rider shown in cross sect-ion;

Fig. 2 is a vertical elevation of the rider;

Fig. 3-. is anend elevation of the rider;

Fig. 4 is a detail showing the gate in elevation; and

Figs. 5 to 11 inclusive are fragmentary details showing the manner of removing the rider from the carrying plate.

The puzzle, in the form lllustrated 1n the drawings, comprises a plate 10 shaped in the form of a boot having a tortuous passage 11 cut therethrough in which ride the pins 12 and13 of the rider 14 which'is shaped like a bottle. The tortuous passage 11 opens at the upper end of the boot but the opening is obstructed by a'pivotally mounted gate 15 which is so shaped and arranged that when the pins 12 and 13 are in proper positions they may be removed one at a 7 time from the passage 11 to the exterior of the plate. J

The rider 14 is made of two side plates fastened, together by the pins 12 and 13 as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and these side plates are preferably large in size, so

that the pins are quite well concealed be tween the two sides and their travel in the tortuous passagell cannot be seen. easily. As w ll be observed, the pin 12 is made larger than the pin 13 and there are certain .por-

tions in the passage 11 which are constricted so that the pin 12 cannotpass therethrough. It is therefore necessary that the rider be so turned and twisted in its passage from the lower end of the boot, as shown in Fig. l, to the top of the boot that the small pin 13 will pass through the narrower places, leaving the larger pin free to move outwardly throughthe gate.

The shape of the passage and the relations of the various parts willbe readily apparent from the disclosure in the drawings and need not be described in detail except in so far as it is required for an understanding of the operation of the device. Assuming the rider to be located in the bottom of the tortuous passage, as shown in Fig. 1 in dottled outline, itwill be found that the bottle can not be moved upwardly when right side up because the larger pin cannot pass into thenarrow portion 20 of the passage 11, as is necessary in order that the other pin may be removed through the gate. Therefore by turning the bottle over as permitted by the H-shaped portion of the passage at the bottom of the boot, the rider may to the portion 2st; ot? the slot it and the smaller pin passing through the crossover 12th forming the bar ot the tlssha Jed passage. Then the rider may he moved upwardly until the pins 1;) and 112 have assumed the positions 2? and Bi (t io; l).

The gate 15 may he made of a. singl piece o'tf' metal bent as shown in t le. -t and pivotallv fastened lrv means ot the pin St) to the upper portion ot the hoot as illustrated in the drawings. The upper portion Ill ot the gate. forms a handle which serves to move the gate and the lone portion has the two slots 32 and 33 so located and o t such size that they may carry the larger pin entirely within the periphery ot the grate.

It the gate is positioned as shown in Fig. It, the small pin may he moved into the reeess or slot. 3;) with a large pin located as shown. in the position :38. Then upon re volvingr the gate in the direction ot the arrow. the small pin is moved to the position shown in Fig, 5 and the large pin moved up 'ardly as there illustrated. Cl. he pin 13 is so narrow that it can pass readily through the constricted passage :0, and it: may he moved into the position shown in Fin. 6 to permit the pin 12 to pass into the slot 33 oi the gate. Upon rotating the gate in the direction shown by the arrow in Fig. (3 the pin 12 will now be moved into the slot 36 in the side ot the passage 1t and the pin 13 will move downwardly in the 1')a.-;::-;ag0 it). the new positions ot the pins being as shown in Fig. '7. Then by moving; the ate hack in the direction shown by the arrow in Fig. 7 the slot 32 in the rate. will be locatedoppositc the pin 19, as shown in l ig. 8. and upon again moving the gate in the direction shown by the arrow in Fig. 8, the pin 12 will he moved through the exit opening of the tortutous passage to the outside of the boot, as illustrated in Fig. 9, and the little pin will have been brought up into position ready to enter the slot 3-13 of the gate.

.lhen upon moving the little pin into the slot 36 as shown in Fig.2; l0 and againmovin r the gate baclnvards in the manner indicated in l ie. ll. the pin 13 ma he removed :lirom the plate 10. These operations will ()l.)'\"l()tt ily he reversed. when the rider is to be put; back onto the plate.

llavinr thus described my invention, what I claim as ne and desire to secure by l ietters Patent is:

l. puzzle comprising a plate having); a tortuous passage provided with a eonstriet ed portion. a rider having pins o't ditl'erent. sizes, one o't. which will and another which will not pass through the constricted portion. and a swinging grate having: a recess arranged to cooperate with an enlarged portion of the passage which is so constructed that a. pin ot the rider may engage therein and be swung to a position outside ot the gate. said parts being so arranged that the smaller pin must; pass into the constricted portion of the passage before the other pin can he carried outwardly by the grate.

i l puzzle comprising a thin plate having! a tortuous passage which has an exitto the outside of the plate at one edge thereof. one port-ion ot the channel adjacent the exitbeinn' constricted, a. rider having two pins. one larger in diameter than the other, arranged to travel along saidpassage except that the larger pin is unable to pass through the constricted portion, and a. gate hinged to the plate and closing the exit ol? the passage and the. entrance to the constricted portion and which has a slot so ar ranged relative to the constricted and wide portions ot' the passage that. the smaller pin may pass to the constricted portion and each pin may he passed successively through the exit: of the passage upon proper manipulation or the rider and grate.

Signed at Worcester Mass, this 21st day of January, 1927.

J ihlJl Jltllh 

